


Flowers To My Demons

by Pluche



Category: Scumbag System (Donghua)
Genre: Gen, Luo Binghe has the biggest crush on his teacher, M/M, One-Sided Crush, Original Characters - Freeform, Shen Qingqiu is oblivious but he's trying, Technical Issues, The System is allergic to plot deviations, fern gully vibes, i went on a lot of hikes in the woods while I was writing this, very light violence, zero sexual content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28138353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pluche/pseuds/Pluche
Summary: Shen Qingqiu remembered that in the original novel, after he had returned from his (originally solo) trip to the Mogu Mountains, he had brought back a very rare flower and gifted it to Ning Yingying. But at that time Ning Yingying had said she preferred the flower gift she’d received from Luo Binghe, which of course led to Luo Binghe being punished. Shen Qingqiu quelled to think how that had turned out for the original goods.This time, Luo Binghe would not get to spend time with Ning Yingying, but he wouldn’t get any punishment either.
Relationships: Shen Qingqiu & Luo Binghe
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Flowers To My Demons

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mizu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizu/gifts).



> Title from "[Flowers To My Demons](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2lKOu8JlXU)" by NNAMDÏ.
> 
> This is a completely original side-quest story, set after about episode 7 and before episode 9. ZERO sexual content, just one-sided puppy love from LBH. I kind of wrote a very long, weird story for a very simple prompt ( tried to include a bit of everything you requested!). I hope you will enjoy it, even a tiny bit of it. 
> 
> Thank you to my betas: my dear friends A and S, without whom this would have been an utter mess.

On a calm afternoon at Qing Jing Peak, Peak Lord Yue Qingyuan invited Shen Qingqiu and his disciple Luo Binghe to tea. 

Shen Qingqiu was apprehensive. Yue Qingyuan almost never invited him to Qiong Ding Peak, and he hadn’t done anything warranting a lecture (at least, nothing recently). These days he had been focused mainly on building up B-Points however he could, because Luo Binghe would be leaving for WaiZhou soon...and after that the Immortal Alliance Conference would be next.

It was just the B-Points he needed more of, that’s why he spent all his time doting on his student!

A window popped up with a _bing!_ as he and Luo Binghe walked over the Rainbow Bridge. It bobbed along beside his head, merrily flashing the text, 

_[ The System has not rewarded you with any B-Points recently. The System thinks you are just slacking off. ]_

_“Oh, shut up,”_ he said, speaking aloud but addressing the system window. “ _I haven’t had any points deducted, either. Maybe The System needs to re-evaluate its points. I deserve so many for my good work!”_ As he said the words, they appeared in the chat window. It seemed that as long as they were recorded in this way, his conversations with The System were invisible to anyone else. All the same, sometimes he felt nervous speaking directly to it out loud.

He glanced back at Luo Binghe, walking next to him, perfectly oblivious. Indeed, no one in this world seemed to care that he would occasionally turn and fumble with a bunch of invisible computer screens or start arguing with the empty air. 

Well, that was fine, he figured. At the end of the day, he was just doing what he knew he had to in order to survive. Even letting Luo Binghe do whatever he wanted was just a ploy.

They sat in Yue Qingyuan’s parlor, Luo Binghe serving them both their tea before serving himself. After they each took a respectful sip, Yue Qingyuan addressed the purpose of inviting them. “I have received reports for a far-off region known as the Mogu Mountains, about some troubling activity.”

Yue Qingyuan got up from the table and walked over to his desk in the adjoining room, picking up a scroll from a neat pile. “Many people have disappeared in those mountains, and others have reported seeing dangerous monsters in the area.”

Shen Qingqiu fanned himself idly, and considered this. He had a vague memory of the Mogu Mountains from the original novel. But he couldn’t remember Luo Binghe ever going there before falling in the Endless Abyss. The only thing he could remember about it was…

“Is this the same Mogu Mountains that is known for the legendary Moon Ear Flower?” he asked, remembering the flower that had featured as a plot point in several exhaustive side-arcs. 

Yue Qingyuan nodded gravely. “This flower has been sought by many cultivators in the past, but has not been found in the wild for some time. It is said the flower grants great spiritual power to the person who eats it. I fear this is what has drawn so many to the region, and their doom.”

Yue Qingyuan placed the letter he had plucked from his desk onto the low table before Shen Qingqiu. He looked hesitant. “I would like to send you to investigate this. However, rather than send you alone, I…,” he took a moment to stare down at his teacup. He looked almost...nervous? “I thought we might travel there together.”

At first, Shen Qingqiu scoffed. “I would not wish to pull the Peak Lord from his duties here for such a small matter. I can attend to this myself.” He remembered now. This was the part in the original novel when he had left for a short time, and Luo Binghe had been mercilessly bullied in his absence. But things were different this time around, and perhaps leaving him for a bit would be good. They spent too much time together, and with the Abyss fast approaching, perhaps they should learn to be apart more.

But he didn’t exactly thrill at the thought of a trip with the caring but painfully boring Yue Qingyuan. Why did he have to come?

Yue Qingyuan looked torn. “It may be dangerous. Perhaps I should...send someone else.” 

_Oh, right.No-Cure._ Shen Qingqiu cursed the No-Cure poison for making all the peak lords treat him like glass. 

“Nonsense,” he said. “I will attend to this matter, and bring Luo Binghe with me. This should be sufficient.” Beside him, Luo Binghe looked bright and eager. There was nothing for it. He would have to teach Luo Binghe some independence another time. 

“But--” Yue Qingyuan blinked, a brief flash of something like sadness in his eyes. At the same time, a System window popped up with bright red _[!!!]_ text. _[Warning!]_ The voice said in his ear. _[Major deviation from the plot!! Luo Binghe must stay at Qing Jing Peak and be bullied by Ming Fan, then practice tormenting him with Senior Nightmare’s help.]_

 _“There will be other opportunities for that!!”_ hissed Shen Qingqiu. If he really thought about it, Luo Binghe would be stuck in the Endless Abyss for years, all alone, and Shen Qingqiu felt an odd desire to spend just a little more time indulging him. Wasn’t this better than letting him be bullied?

The System flashed as though angry, the screen in front of him glowing brighter. 

Shen Qingqiu just narrowed his eyes, looking back at Yue Qingyuan, ignoring the screen altogether. “I am in good health, Yue Qingyuan. And Luo Binghe is a very capable disciple, this is a good opportunity for him to learn.”

Luo Binghe preened at the praise. Internally, Shen Qingqiu felt a pang of warm exasperation. _So easily pleased._

The red error _[!!!]_ screen flashed once more. _[Warning!]_ the voice insisted _._ Shen Qingqiu ignored it.

Yue Qingyuan acquiesced; he always did, when it came to Shen Qingqiu. “If it would please Peak Lord Shen, then I will allow it.”

They set out the next morning on horseback. The option of flying on their swords was considered briefly before Yue Qingyuan insisted that they could reach the mountain in just a few days by riding. That No-Cure made sword-flying too dicey was left unsaid, but Shen Qingqiu still fumed internally.

Yue Qingyuan saw them off at the gate. He was, as much as a tranquil immortal could, fretting. 

One delicate wrinkle was set into his heavy brow. “If you encounter bandits or demons on the road--”

“I will stand between any threat and Shizun,” Luo Binghe replied, solemnly. 

Shen Qingqiu scoffed, opening his fan to hide his face. “It is your master’s duty to protect you, not the reverse.” But Luo Binghe turned on his horse and leveled him with a stare not unlike a demon lord’s, fiery and resolute. 

“I owe Shizun my life and I will not shirk my duty.” Behind his fan, Shen Qingqiu withered. As much as he felt Luo Binghe was absolutely serious, he wondered if his unfailing devotion would only lead to a sharper punishment after Shen Qingqiu betrayed him in future. It made him want to push him away again. And yet, now as ever, Shen Qingqiu just couldn’t.

Yue Qingyuan’s brow was still furrowed. “Do not take unnecessary risks. I will expect your return within a week.” 

Shen Qingqiu bowed his head respectfully. “We will not fail you, Zhangmen-shixiong.” And with that, they set off. 

The road they traveled down was clouded in fog, giving way to sunlight. Shen Qingqiu remembered how it felt to fly by plane in his past life. How dipping through the clouds felt like passing through a magical barrier, an illusion of bright, flat light melting away to reveal the land below. They passed their travels in peace, stopping in a couple inns to rest, and departing at dawn again each morning. 

As they neared the Mogu Mountain region, Shen Qingqiu noted the peculiar flora that began to appear more and more. Trees of extraordinary size stretched high over their heads to block out much of the light as they rode deeper in. Luo Binghe spotted a crops of brilliant blue mushrooms growing on a fallen tree log, surrounded by soft mosses and stripy fungus. Just off the road, they heard the rustle of small animals, saw glimpses of bright flowering shrubs.

Shen Qingqiu pointed out plenty of plants and herbs that he knew would be useful to Luo Binghe in the future. Truly, this region was ripe with resources. Shen Qingqiu was surprised to not see more signs of people as they rode. If this place was plagued by dangerous monsters, it was scaring people off from a great deal of profit. 

Shen Qingqiu remembered that in the original novel, after he had returned to Qing Jing Peak from his (originally solo) trip to the Mogu Mountains, he had brought back a very rare Moon Ear Flower and gifted it to Ning Yingying. A generous gift, of a very powerful spiritual tool. But at that time Ning Yingying had said she preferred the flower gift she’d received from Luo Binghe, which of course led to Luo Binghe being punished. Shen Qingqiu quelled to think how that had turned out for the original goods. 

This time, Luo Binghe would not get to spend time with Ning Yingying, but he wouldn’t get any punishment either. 

_[Bing!]_ The tell-tale System chat window chimed. _[If Luo Binghe does not give Ning Yingying a flower gift, 30 character coolness points will be deducted.]_

Shen Qingqiu spit blood. _“What! But he isn’t there to give her anything! Why didn’t you tell me this before!”_

_[Plot deviation may lead to System alerts being delayed.]_

Shen Qingqiu cursed internally. Sometimes this system almost sounded cheeky. He was not a fan of it.

Then something odd happened. The chat window shuddered, the normal blue light flashing a few different colors. The window then flickered, and was gone. Shen Qingqiu blinked. Usually it simply vanished with another [ _bing!]––_ This looked like some kind of computer glitch.

Could The System actually glitch? It had mentioned scanning for program errors before. That one time he’d first encountered Liu Qingge in the caves his character title had looked corrupted. That time, he’d assumed it was because Liu Qingge’s character was near death. 

Shen Qingqiu felt cold. Were they in danger?

 _“System?”_ he called out. He received no answer. 

Luo Binghe, riding on his mount beside him, looked over suddenly. “Shizun?” he asked, oddly. “Did you say something?” 

Shen Qingqiu felt even more cold. Had Luo Binghe heard him calling for The System? 

Didn’t that mean The System hadn’t detected his call? Was it not working? 

At this moment, Luo Binghe saw his master sit very stiffly in his saddle, looking a little alarmed. Luo Binghe leaned over to ask, “Shizun? What’s the matter?” 

Shen Qingqiu startled, caught up in a sudden chill. He turned to Luo Binghe, who was still staring at him. Truly, this young protagonist was sometimes too observant.

Shen Qingqiu picked through the layers of deceit he was always juggling. “I am...nothing. I’m fine, BingHe.”

Luo Binghe was not dissuaded, damn him. “I sense a strange energy in these woods, Shizun. Do you also feel it?” 

Shen Qingqiu felt something, alright. A growing sense of unease. “I shall ride ahead and check the road,” he suggested, but before he could snap his horse’s reins, Luo Binghe had already interjected.

“Allow me, Shizun!” he said, and his horse took off. Shen Qingqiu sighed. Once Luo Binghe was out of earshot, though, he tried The System again. _“Hey, System? Can you hear me?”_

Nothing. 

“You stupid robot, or whatever you are, hey! I need your 24-hour-assistance!”

His voice echoed off the trees surrounding him. His very, very much _aloud_ voice. 

Well. This was...maybe a problem. 

“Shizun!” Luo Binghe cried, and Shen Qingqiu jumped in his saddle, startled. His student rode back into view from around the bend in the path. As quickly as he could, Shen Qingqiu schooled himself back into a calm immortal visage, shoving his panic aside. 

“What is it,” he said, as flatly as he could. 

Luo Binghe paused for a moment, his eyes darting around, but he quickly recovered. “Just ahead, there’s an abandoned merchant’s cart and horses.. Will you come see?” 

Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe rode on, finding the cart at the bottom of a steep incline in the path. It was rockier here, the road broken up by huge mossy boulders and patches of mud. One of the cart wheels had shattered and the cart had tipped over, leaning haphazardly on one large boulder. A horse strained to release itself from its reins, clearly abandoned in a haste. 

As they rode closer, Luo Binghe hopped off his mount to approach the spooked animal, whispering and speaking soothingly. It calmed as he drew near, huffing as he pet its side. “Shh, that’s right. It’s alright. What happened to you, sweet thing?” He looked back at Shen Qingqiu. “From the state of this creature, I wonder if this cart was abandoned recently?” Luo Binghe was clever and could tell just from a glance what had happened, but still he phrased it humbly, looking for his master’s confirmation.

Shen Qingqiu noted the contents of the cart that had spilled into the road. Mushrooms and roots tumbled out of several baskets, small wooden cages sat in a heap. Some of them had broken open, empty. Underneath he could hear the distressed rustling of small creatures. 

Earth and foliage around the cart had been scratched violently in a trail that led into the woods. A tree had been splintered and bushes torn from their roots.

“Yes, it looks that way,” Shen Qingqiu replied, simply. “BingHe is observant,” he added, because Luo Binghe sometimes sulked if he wasn’t praised. Shen Qingqiu slipped gracefully down from his mount and started freeing the rest of the caged animals. “These are animals that are often sold to rare breed auctions,” he observed, as a bright teal Jeweled Beak Nightingale fluttered free. “I suppose this was someone’s wares, on their way to market.” 

Luo Binghe looked at the scattered baskets. “Were they all collected from the forests of the mountain?” he wondered aloud, pointing to the bright blue mushrooms that tumbled from one basket––the same mushrooms they had seen growing along the path earlier.

Shen Qingqiu took out his fan and flourished it, clearing his throat. “Mm, it would seem so. This forest is full of useful items. I would expect plenty of people to make a living collecting them.” 

What had Yue Qingyuan told them? That dangerous beasts had been spotted in the forest? And that people had been disappearing. 

Shen Qingqiu could put two and two together.

“We should move on,” he said, feeling ever more uneasy. Whatever had disrupted this cart could still be nearby. He wasn’t keen on running into it just now. Not while he was still without the System and unsure why. 

Before either of them mounted their horses, a snuffling was heard from beneath the cart. Suddenly, a head popped out. A human head. 

It was a young girl. “H-hello? Can you h-help me out?” she whimpered. Her face was smeared with mud, her hair askew, but her eyes were bright. 

Luo Binghe leapt to her side in an instant. “Oh! Ah, you’re alright, miss. It’s okay, here, take my arm,” he instructed, and carefully pulled her out of the tiny space beneath the cart’s wheels where she must have been hiding. 

She was short, a young teenager, with hair that looked like it had once been pulled into two neat buns but now hung limply from the sides of her head. Though her clothes were covered in more mud, they looked finely made. She stood up on trembling legs and gazed up at Luo Binghe.

“T-Thank you,” she managed, clutching at his sleeves. “Oh, thank you! I was so afraid of that monster returning!” She began to cry. “It d-dragged my brother into the woods! That b-beast!” 

Luo Binghe spoke formally. “You’ll be alright now. Can you tell me your name?” he asked. 

She sniffed, and said, “I am Li Chengli. My older brother is Li Shenfu, a merchant. We were travelling back to town, when…” she trailed off, sniffling. “It came out of the trees, knocked our cart over, and grabbed him!” 

Shen Qingqiu stepped closer, with all the grace he could manage on the rocky ground. “Can you describe this beast?” 

She looked up at Shen Qingqiu with large, watery eyes. “It looked like a giant beetle. With...great big horns, and it was screeching, oh, it was so loud!” 

Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu exchanged a brief glance. “A Screaming Scarab Beast?” Luo Binghe asked his master, quietly. Shen Qingqiu nodded. 

“Please! We must find him! Help me find my brother!” Li Chengli cried, her grip tightening on Luo Binghe’s arm, so much that Shen Qingqiu saw Luo Binghe flinch just a bit. _For a future harem protagonist, he is rather uncomfortable around girls,_ Shen Qingqiu thought, not for the first time.

He didn’t seem very moved by her distress. So, it seemed, it was up to Shen QingQiu to be the magnanimous one. “Do not fear,” he said. “We will help you, young lady.”

The girl addressed Luo Binghe as though he had been the one to speak, though. “Oh, thank you, kind travelers! You look very strong! Are you cultivators?” she asked, smoothing her hand solicitously over Luo Binghe’s gauntlets. Shen Qingqiu only just managed to not roll his eyes. Luo Binghe was looking at him seriously, though, seeming to not even notice this young maiden flirting with him.

“How shall we proceed, Shizun?” he asked.

Shen Qingqiu thought to himself. This seemed straightforward, right? Monsters were attacking people. If they tracked the trail from here, they would find her brother and probably whatever grabbed him.

He didn’t need The System’s help for this! He was a powerful cultivator, he’d unlocked a lot of his abilities and weapons, and he’d trained Luo Binghe well. 

“Enter the woods and track down the monster,” he said, with more conviction than he felt. A brief look of irritation flashed across Luo Binghe’s face, but it was gone before Shen QingQiu could react.

Li ChengLi piped up, “Let me help! Many people get lost who don’t know the paths in the deeper forest,” she said. “But I know them very well, I’ll guide you!” She pointed to the gash in the foliage where the beast’s trail led off the road. 

“But––” Luo Binghe started to say, then seemed to swallow an objection. Shen QingQiu looked to him. 

“Binghe, we should help this poor girl,” he insisted. Luo Binghe looked at his master silently, as though going over something in his head, then he sighed and nodded. 

Shen Qingqiu nodded back. “Let’s go,” he said. They stowed their horses in a small clearing on the roadside, pushing the cart off the road as best they could, then warily stepping into the woods after Li Chengli. 

She led them quickly away, following the path of broken branches and upturned rocks made by the beast until they had wound their way so deep into the woods that Shen Qingqiu couldn’t even tell which direction they’d come from. It was darker, the trees and rocks reaching high overhead, twisting together like the spires of a cavern. 

“I think the beast went this way!” she insisted, as they kept climbing deeper in. She seemed to be getting only more jumpy and Shen QingQiu felt worried for her. Poor girl, unsure what had become of her dear brother. Luo Binghe, who was bringing up the rear, caught Shen QingQiu’s gaze and narrowed his eyes. 

“Li Chengli, do you know where you’re going?” Luo Binghe asked, carefully. 

She only pressed doggedly on. “This is a shortcut!” she exclaimed, insisting, “There is a shrine further in, I think he will be there.” They were so deep now that Shen Qingqiu was grateful to have a guide, for he couldn’t see any signs of a path whatsoever. They were all but climbing sideways along a steep incline.

Then he had an idea––he called out for the System, willing it to answer. _“System? I’m...sorry for yelling at you before? Could I get your help, please?”_

A window appeared but it was flickering badly, like a TV channel with a poor signal. The voice was coming in and out, too, though it was there. _[ We––We apologize for our limited service at this time. We are experiencing i-issues–– ]_

 _“Never mind, never mind,”_ Shen Qingqiu said mildly. He was relieved to hear the voice, more than he could admit. _“Can you help us find this girl’s brother? I think we’re lost.”_

Luo Binghe’s hand clutched at his arm and he jumped.

“Shizun,” Luo Binghe hissed at him, “I do not think Li ChengLi is being entirely honest with us.” 

“What?” Shen Qingqiu hissed back. Li Chengli was still walking ahead but she looked back at them, sharply. 

For a moment her face flashed with something dark before she was simpering again. “Please, good sirs, it’s only a bit farther.” 

Luo Binghe stepped around Shen Qingqiu, blocking him from following her. He said something, something that made Li Chengli sound angry, but Shen Qingqiu couldn’t hear it over the loud _[BING!!]_ that sounded in his ear. She looked upset, but Shen QingQiu didn’t catch why––right then a bright, flashing window popped up in front of him. The window shuddered violently, but then settled. _[ This is not––not part of the established plot. We do not have the data for this area or t-time––]_

Shen Qingqiu didn’t know what happened next, only that there was a sudden loud crack, and the earth under their feet began to slip. Li Chengli’s eyes widened. In a blink of an eye she was gone, swept away by a landslide of earth and rocks, carrying her far down into darkness. 

Master and disciple also fell, but the undulating earth carried them in an entirely different direction until they struck the trunk of a large tree, blocking them from falling further. 

Shen Qingqiu landed in a heap, his back protesting being tossed around. The fall would surely have led to serious injury if he’d not been a cultivator. Luo Binghe had landed half on top of him sideways, gangly arms and legs akimbo. He recovered in a flash, sitting up and pushing himself away quickly.

“Shizun!!” he cried. “Are you al-alright? This disciple apologizes, I––”

“I’m perfectly fine” he said quickly, sitting himself up and leaning in to fussily pat his student’s head and shoulders. “You’re not injured, Binghe?” 

Binghe shook his head. “Shizun, that girl-––I think she was going to try and hurt us, she was about to attack me––” 

Shen Qingqiu huffed. “Nonsense, what are you saying? She was distressed,” he insisted, and trying to remember what had happened he could only conclude that she must have heard the approaching landslide and was trying to warn them. 

Li Chengli––was she alright? She had slid away so quickly and she was just a child. Shen Qingqiu felt a pang of worry thinking what had happened. He was about to lecture his student further for his distrustfulness of women when the System window popped back into his field of vision, flickering somewhat. 

_[ Warning!! Environment instability detected. ]_

Shen Qingqiu pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a faint ache in his skull that had nothing to do with bashing it against a tree. 

“Shizun? Are you really alright…?” Luo Binghe insisted on reaching up to touch his head, but stopping himself, oddly stiff. 

“I am fine. Worry more about yourself, Binghe,” he chided. He was certainly not worried for him. He stood up, a bit unsteadily as the landslide had made the terrain uncertain. But they were cultivators, needing only the lightest footholds to balance on. He quickly leapt up into the infinitely more steady high branches above.

The forest stretched out in every direction, too dense to see very far. There was a distant sound of rumbling, still, the landslide petering off, but he couldn’t hear anything else. 

“Li Chengli!” he called, loud and clear. Only his own echo answered. 

Luo Binghe leapt up to stand next to him on the branch. Without really thinking about it, he reached over and patting down Luo Binghe’s shoulders and back where a good amount of dirt still covered him. 

“We should search the area where the landslide occurred to find the girl quickly. She could be badly hurt.” Luo Binghe bit his lip at this, obviously wanting to protest, but stopping himself. 

“Spit it out,” Shen Qingqiu sighed, worried that his disciple might explode from holding himself back. 

“We should head back to the road,” Luo Binghe burst out. “We can fly by sword, get away from here quickly!” 

But they still had a mission, and someone who needed their help besides. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “We should stay under the trees, so we can look for her and her brother,” he said pointedly. They had a duty to fulfill. 

“But!” Binghe just continued to press. “That girl is not what she says, Shizun. I have a bad feeling! We need to get out of these woods!” 

Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but sigh. “You are too quick to judge her, without any proof. She is in need of our help.”

But Luo Binghe just continued to be stubborn, damn him. He scowled, whining, “Shizun, you think nothing of your own safety! You’re far too kind!”

“I can protect myself, Binghe. You don’t need to concern yourself so much with me,” he said calmly. 

Luo Binghe’s face did something very strange. Shen Qingqiu immediately got the sinking feeling in his gut that that had been the wrong thing to say.

“If Shizun really thinks so….if that’s what Shizun thinks….” Luo Binghe’s voice wavered, like he was trying not to cry. 

Shen Qingqiu wanted to curse, but his heart couldn’t help but be moved, too. “Binghe, please, don’t be upset, it’s really alright…,” he tried to say, as calmly as he could. But before he could finish, Luo Binghe’s eyes flashed with fire and he had drawn his sword!

“Shizun can continue alone, I will go ahead!” he cried, and leaping onto his sword, he flew off into the trees. His final words echoed among the surrounding rocks and branches.

Shen Qingqiu could not form any coherent thoughts for the next few minutes besides these:

What.

The.

Fuck!!

This shitty teen!!!!!!! 

He pinched his brow and worked to calm himself, standing completely fucking alone on a branch in the middle of the woods.

It was easy to forget, sometimes, that Luo Binghe was still very much a teenager, with a teenager’s full range of moods which could so easily flip at the worst moments. And after all, this boy was to become the Immortal Demon Lord who would kill anyone who displeased him at the drop of a hat….

Shen Qingqiu tried to reason his predicament out in this way. He was, despite playing his character fairly well, not that much better at….feelings. He cycled through their conversation in his head over and over, but could not figure out why the heck Luo Binghe had suddenly gotten so mad! It didn’t make any sense!!

Of course this was the moment the red _[!!!]_ System window decided to flash right in front of his fucking face. Even glitching, it still felt the need to tell him whenever he screwed up. 

_[Warning: Protagonist emotional instability detected.]_

_“You think so?!”_ Shen Qingqiu spat. It was a good thing the System picked it up, or his voice would have made the trees shudder. _“You don’t need to remind me, I just witnessed it!!”_

_[...This System would ordinarily be able to track the Protagonist’s moods and thoughts. But this excursion has made us blind to certain...nuances. We apologize for the delayed warnings.]_

The idea of the System being “blind” to anything made Shen Qingqiu feel unsettled. _“ How can you not see something?”_ He exclaimed. Each time he raised his “voice”, the window shuddered. “ _Isn’t this whole story part of the System’s program? Aren’t you in charge? You control everything I do!”_

The chat window recorded his words, and the system’s reply box popped up, but there was a strange delay to the text before it began to fill in. _[ We do not control everything.]_ is all it said, voice oddly flat. Flat, even for a robot.

It sounded…terse.

But before Shen Qingqiu could reply, the window flickered again and vanished. 

Well. So The System was pissed at him. Join the club, he thought, and looked around. 

The woods were steep here. He could look to one side and see the ground at the same level of the tree he stood in, very close. Downhill was only more endless woods. He hadn’t the slightest clue which direction they’d come in––maybe it was better to just stay put.

But…!! If Luo Binghe expected him to sit and wallow like a lost old badger, he could think again. He would make it out of here all by himself and then he would seriously give that willful disciple of his an earful!! 

...Well. That is, they would be having a serious talk. He would be very stern. Yes. Definitely.

It was already late afternoon and what little daylight filtered through the trees was already fading. Shen Qingqiu forced himself to move. He leapt nimbly through the branches, unburdened by either a willful disciple or a distressed young girl, so he could survey the destruction of the landslide easily. He circled the lowest points where the earth had stopped tumbling, but found no sign of Li Chengli. He tried to sense her spiritual energy but, strangely, his powers were acting funny. He would usually feel a distinct point of energy, but now he felt a spiritual presence everywhere, diffused. 

He jumped up higher into the branches, trying to see over the top of them, but the rippling peaks of the mountains that he could see from above only made him more confused. There was no sign of a road or clearing, just trees, _endless_ trees. This forest was truly massive.

Yet, among the highest peaks, far off through the mist, he saw the treeline give way to bare earth. There was something glittering atop one particular peak––a light? 

Perhaps it was the shrine Li Chengli had mentioned. Perhaps she would make her own way there, and maybe he would find Luo Binghe there as well, waiting sullenly, miserable and sorry for running off. Shen Qingqiu would have to coddle him until his mood improved. He’d be a caring master and they’d work out whatever that outburst was about. 

...Wait. No. He was still mad at the kid. No coddling!! Luo Binghe was nearly an adult!

With renewed vigor he tore up through the trees and narrow zig-zagging crevices of the steep rocks, cursing Luo Binghe in his mind the whole way. 

As he went, each time he seemed about to crest a high ridge, the land twisted back downwards back into some dark passage, until he was starting to feel less confident he would be able to make it above the treeline before night fell. And there was still possibly a dangerous beast on the loose, so he began to listen carefully for unusual noises in the woods around him. He moved through the trees alone, every noise making him feel a little bit more tense.

Shen Qingqiu certainly did _not_ miss the presence of his disciple. He _didn’t._ But he was, maybe, just a little bit...worried.

“Luo Binghe!” he called out. 

Only his own echo answered him. 

“System!!!” he yelled, aloud, because if no one was around, then no one would care. “You damn Google-Translate-voiced seizure!! Where am I going!!” But only more echoes answered, like ghosts laughing and jeering his foolishness. Shen Qingqiu sighed and pushed forward. He was circling a particularly steep wall of rocky peaks, the footholds here so narrow that even he was a bit nervous. When he jumped up to the next flat edge, though, he noticed that the rocks here were cut––forming unmistakable, if badly worn, stone steps. 

A path!!

Shen Qingqiu climbed them carefully as they led into a gap between the rocks, the path so narrow that no light reached it at all, and he was completely blind for a stretch. As he turned a corner the gap opened, and he saw the open sky.

He had stepped onto a much wider cliff. There, at its edge, clouded in some fog, was a light––the same one he’d seen, but brighter and oddly shaped. 

Carefully, he walked towards it, wary not to step off the edge. He came to a wooden step dropping down to a rickety drawstring bridge. With all the grace he could muster, he stepped onto it, unable to tell how far the land dropped below. He was certainly not frightened of falling; all the same, it felt prudent to tightly grasp the ropes on either side. 

Finally he felt the end of the bridge and stepped back up onto another wooden step. The step here was caked in mosses and flakes of fungus. As he walked further, more and more fungus and little mushrooms grew. The wooden posts, each with generous crops of mushrooms covering them, continued in a line as if leading the way. He could see the light more clearly now, just ahead of him as he followed the posts to its base, marvelling as the fog cleared to reveal its form.

It was a shrine––a simple wooden pagoda roof held up by four posts, with a small stone altar underneath. Behind the pagoda was a tall statue, ox horns sticking out on either side. 

It was covered, absolutely covered, in pure white flowers. Glowing white flowers.

He had read about bioluminescent plants in his past life, which through some chemical reaction with the air and temperature gave off their own light, and were sometimes called “fairy fire”. In this world brimming with magic, it was not so strange to see a plant glow. But Shen Qingqiu still felt awed. These were, surely, the legendary Moon Ear Flowers that so many travelers had quested for, and failed to find. 

He walked closer to the shrine structure slowly, examining it. What was this place? The altar under the pagoda roof was also grown over with vines and flowers. Shen Qingqiu could only barely make out the remnants of something carved into it.

His attention was drawn inevitably back to the glowing flowers themselves. They sparkled, inviting. Shen Qingqiu recalled that all he knew about this part of the novel was that Shen Qingqiu had returned to Qing Jing Peak with a rare flower as a gift for Ning Yingying. 

It had to be one of these, didn’t it?

He reached out tentatively to touch one and felt a ripple of energy. Hmm. Somehow, he was hesitant. 

_“System?”_ he tried again. This time the window did appear, though it was still shuddering faintly. 

_[ W-We–– ]_ he heard the voice say. _[This System cannot––]_ it said, the words appearing and then vanishing in the chat window. An error message popped up, then vanished. The chat window remained, seemingly unable to say anything. 

_“Hey, come on,”_ Shen Qingqiu tried. _“I think this flower is something I’m supposed to take but everyone who tries to find it disappears, so. Can you tell me which one will give me a penalty, or something?”_

His words were dictated into the chat haltingly. Then, rather than getting a reply, a small wheel popped up, spinning slowly. 

_...Are you KIDDING me,_ Shen Qingqiu thought. 

Was that a goddamn spinning wheel of doom!! 

He watched the wheel for a little while, feeling a faint sense of nostalgia for his PC mouse, then looked back at the flowers and noticed something else. At the base of the statue, blending into the white of the flowers, hard to spot, was something else that was white. 

It was a skull.

It was a _whole bunch_ of skulls. 

It was a whole bunch of _human_ skulls. 

All around the bottom edge of the statue, polished and shining, were dozens of human skulls, stacked up in neat rows and piled up until the flowers covered them.

 _Never mind,_ he thought, shakily. He stood back up, backing away. He certainly wasn’t going to steal a flower from that pile of bones. This place was cursed, and he had walked right into it.

Where _was_ Luo Binghe? Had he really flown all the way over the mountain without spotting this place, or even returning for Shen Qingqiu? Was Luo Binghe so angry that he had just flown back home instead? Angry enough that he didn’t want to bother with Shen Qingqiu anymore?

Or had something happened…? Was his disciple okay? They still didn’t understand what was happening in this forest. Luo Binghe had run off all on his own without knowing where he was going,that stupid disciple. He was probably lost out there somewhere, all alone and just as terrified... No. Shen Qingqiu wasn’t terrified. He was _annoyed_. 

An ominous roar sounded from the forest below.

Shen Qingqiu tried to peer through the fog over the side of the mountain peak, looking for the source of the noise. He couldn't see anything. Behind him, the glow of the shrine grew stronger, to the point where it washed out everything else around it with utter darkness. The glow was as strong as a searchlight, brighter than anything Shen Qingqiu had ever seen since transmigrating to this world. 

He called forth Xiu Ya, taking his stance in front of the shrine. Considering his options it seemed most prudent to stand vigil and wait to see what approached.

What approached, in the end, was Luo Binghe, emerging out of the thick fog and walking right up to him.

“Shizun!!” he cried, all innocent surprise. “What are you doing here?!”

 _Binghe_ …!!

Shen Qingqiu took in the sight of his wayward disciple. Luo Binghe did not look in any way terrified or miserable. He was carried his sword in one hand, a lantern in the other. Behind him, Shen Qingqiu could see the glow of what must be another lantern, and the sound of a voice. 

His sword dripped with blood. “Are you injured?” asked Shen Qingqiu, unbidden, before he remembered, wait, he was supposed to be mad at his student!!

Luo Binghe shook his head. He seemed to be having trouble speaking. “T-This disciple is not injured...this disciple took care of some small monsters on the way here.”

Indeed, Shen Qingqiu could see that he was unscathed, only flecked with a few spots of ichor here and there. Shen Qingqiu nodded, for some reason also having a hard time finding his next words. Hadn’t he been practising the lecture he would give Luo Binghe as soon as he saw him next? Why was it stuck in his throat!!

He gathered all his strength as a powerful Peak Lord, schooling his face into sternness with all his might, and began, “Luo Binghe––”

Luo Binghe visibly tensed, looking at the ground. Shen Qingqiu hesitated. 

Damn it, why was he so weak to Binghe’s pouting?

Forget yelling... he could never bring himself to yell at Binghe. He should have known. He decided to try a more delicate approach. “Luo Binghe, this master might have...said something that made you doubt my respect for you. I am sorry. But––” Luo Binghe looked up at him, stricken.

“Your behavior was...unbecoming of a Qing Jing Peak disciple.” There. That was the core of the matter, an entirely legitimate criticism. He was the master and Luo Binghe the student. He had to do his best to guide him to becoming less...melodramatic. For his own sake, as much as Shen Qingqiu’s. 

Luo Binghe froze for a moment, then suddenly dropped to one knee. “I––That is, this disciple apologizes for abandoning Shizun, and for making Shizun climb the mountain alone, without protection, and for yelling at Shizun, who is only trying to teach me to be a better cultivator, and––”

At this rate, Luo Binghe’s words were almost becoming unintelligible as he picked up speed so Shen Qingqiu stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Binghe,” he said, sighing, all his previous annoyance drained to be replaced with mere exasperation. “It’s alright.”

Luo Binghe quieted, taking a breath, and then looked up to Shen Qingqiu with a hint of distress still in his eyes. “This disciple will accept any punishment Shizun deems fit.”

Shen Qingqiu huffed. “Get up. I will not punish you. But, in future, you must not run off on your own without knowing where you are going. These forests are full of monsters, after all.”

Luo Binghe rose to his feet, his distress melting away like snow over a fire as he said, “Shizun, were you worried about me?”

Before Shen Qingqiu could smack Luo Binghe on his head for his cheek, the other light came closer. Through the fog stepped a man carrying a lantern like Luo Binghe’s. He carried an axe, and was about middle-aged.

Shen Qingqiu bowed politely to him.

“Young master Luo,” the man said, “Is this your master you spoke of?” He seemed wary, the hand clutching his axe held in front of him still.

Luo Binghe nodded, and turned back to Shen Qingqiu. “Shizun, this is Li Shenfu.”

Li Shenfu did not lower his arm. “How did you make it here?” He seemed genuinely suspicious, like it was easily seen from a far distance. He looked around the clearing as though looking for someone else.

Luo Binghe explained, “Shizun, we came back this way looking for you. But I thought you would still be lower down on the mountain, waiting for me!”

Shen Qingqiu replied, untroubled, “this clearing seemed a more logical place to wait.” S _o you should have waited for me here, Luo Binghe!_ he left unsaid. “You made it safely back to the road?”

Luo Binghe shook his head. “I didn’t get that far, before the sun started to set, and I became worried, so...I turned back. But then I heard shouting, and found Li ShenFu fending off a monster!”

Shen Qingqiu raised his eyebrows a fraction. “A monster?” 

Li Shenfu interjected, “Young Master Luo killed it swiftly. Then he told me of his master who he had lost in the woods up the mountain and asked me for a lantern. I offered to come with him to search.”

Shen Qingqiu felt Luo Binghe sweating beside him. 

_Who exactly was lost!! He had been abandoned!!_

But now was not the time to be seen berating his disciple, so he nodded to Li Shenfu, giving him his most serene smile. “My thanks, for returning my disciple to me.”

Inexplicably, Li Shenfu looked a little dazzled. “I-It was no trouble,” he said. “It’s dangerous in this forest at night and hard to find the path. Young Master Luo said he didn’t know exactly where he’d separated from you, so I suggested he search from this vantage point.” 

Then his attention was drawn to the glowing shrine behind them. “No one outside my family knows the way to this shrine.” He stepped towards it, as if drawn to the light. 

Luo Binghe’s expression turned serious at the mention of Li Shenfu’s family. “That’s right. We were led part of the way here by a young girl...who claimed to be your sister, Li Chengli.”

Li Shenfu visibly froze, his back turned away from them, shoulders tense. “Ah, yes...my poor sister, left her by the road.”

Shen Qingqiu swished his sleeve, eyeing Li Shenfu. “She claimed her brother had been attacked, dragged into the woods by a monster, and bid us help her to find him. But you do not look at all injured. Nor are you lost,” he declared coolly. 

Suddenly, from beyond the edge of the clearing, another loud, shrieking roar sounded. Luo Binghe turned to look, gripping his sword. “Another one?”

Shen Qingqiu took his stance facing the roar as well, before they heard another creature’s howl from behind them, on the other side of the shrine. More followed, from every direction. 

They were being surrounded.

Luo Binghe turned to shield Li Shenfu, only to find him crouching by the base of the shrine’s altar in front of the worn-away stone. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. 

“Luo Binghe, protect Li Shenfu,” called Shen Qingqiu, electing to stay near the front by the bridge. “We will dispatch any threats and then escape the way we came.”

“Yes, Shizun,” Luo Binghe replied, brandishing his sword at the cliff edge behind them. 

At that moment, they were all startled by a loud, powerful roar, like the dying shrieks of something in great pain.

The fog had begun to clear, and beyond the clearing edge Shen Qingqiu could see some swaying treetops below. Some were shaking violently, and snuffling and growling could be heard.

Again they heard that shriek. Then, from over the side of the clearing, came a great, clawed foot––then another as a beast the size of a small dwelling pulled itself up to stand before them. Shen Qingqiu quickly catalogued the forked tongue, the pincers, the six clawed feet, and the bright blue horns: a Screaming Scarab Beast! 

Shen Qingqiu took just a millisecond to yell _cool monster!!!_ inside his own head, before focusing on the task of slaying it. 

“Binghe, stay by Li Shenfu’s side. This master will take care of this first.” Then he leapt forward and let fly the lightning-fast strike of Xiu Ya, splitting the Scarab Beast cleanly in two. Its final screech spluttered out as it fell back into the forest below. 

Shen Qingqiu breathed out a small sigh, not even a bit winded but relieved. A Scarab Beast was not too dangerous, just annoying. They would destroy everything in their path, eating livestock or humans––whatever they could. And they bred quickly. They were giant pests.

If this was what was causing the problems in this forest, it would be an easy fix. But Shen Qingqiu had a suspicion that this wasn’t all that was going on. 

Another shriek came from the cliff nearest Luo Binghe, Li Shenfu whimpering as Luo Binghe’s sword cut clean through another Scarab Beast before it fell away. They heard more scuffling, and finished off three more Scarab Beasts before the forest around them settled and they seemed to be safe from further ambush. 

By this time the sky had darkened completely, covered in thick clouds. No moon or stars could be seen, the only light coming from the shrine itself and the lanterns. Shen Qingqiu felt as though they could have been underground but for the sound of wind in the trees beyond.

His sword was now covered in ichor, but he needed only to swipe it with controlled speed for it to clean itself before he stowed it away. Luo Binghe followed suit. Li Shenfu was still crouched in front of the shrine, watching. “You killed them all…,” he said, shaking his head and looking a bit dizzy. “T-Thank you, masters...I am...in your debt,” he bit out, grudgingly.

“You needn’t repay us,” Shen Qingqiu said, monotone. “It will suffice, if you would please explain what is going on.”

“I––what do you mean?” Li Shenfu asked, hesitant. 

Shen Qingqiu pointed to the shrine’s altar. “You were apologizing, just before the monsters came. For what?”

Li Shenfu turned to look at the altar behind him, cracked and worn away with neglect. “This…,” he said, warily, “is my family’s shrine. I’ve always tended to it, and the flowers and plants growing on this mountain. But then….” He trailed off, looking back at Shen Qingqiu. “You cultivators and nobles, were always coming here in search of the Moon Ear Flower, not caring who you hurt to get it!”

Shen Qingqiu tensed, but Luo Binghe leapt to his defense. “Watch what you’re implying! My shizun would never hurt an innocent person!” He stood resolutely beside Shen Qingqiu, who withered internally because he _had_ done exactly that––he’d hurt Luo Binghe, after all _._

“Not a _person,_ the living spirit of this forest!!” Li Shenfu exclaimed, getting to his feet. He pointed to the glowing flowers. “It had been harvested so much it nearly stopped growing, except in this sacred place!”

“Why is the flower a...a spirit?” Shen Qingqiu asked. Of course it was spiritual, but….it was one of the many dozens of rare flowers in this stupid novel, and even he couldn’t keep them all straight. 

“It...draws power from the mountain, distilling it, making it glow.” Li Shenfu said. He sucked in a hollow breath. “But when it’s harvested in great numbers, taking that energy away,” he pressed on, “The forest around it grows sallow, decaying! All the other plants and animals here depend on it!”

 _Of course it has a catch_ , Shen Qingqiu thought to himself. It was so typical of this world that an item of immeasurable value could cause untold chaos.

Li Shenfu’s fists clenched. “I will protect it, no matter what,” he said. He wouldn’t look at them. 

He was holding something in his fist, Shen Qingqiu realized.

When he quickly raised his closed fist to his mouth, Shen Qingqiu gripped Luo Binghe’s shoulder and tried to jump away. It was too late––Li Shenfu had already blown the dust in his hand into their faces, and then Shen Qingqiu felt everything grow dim as darkness took him. 

The next thing he was aware of was the System voice, clear as day in his ears. 

_[Critical Error...Scum Villain Shen Qingqiu account damaged...miscalculation….]_

Shen Qingqiu tried to focus on the light in front of his eyes. A window, glitching and flashing so much that it was almost impossible to see what was written in it, hovered in front of his face. _[Recalculating…]_ it read, a loading bar filling and then draining underneath, over and over. Shen Qingqiu had never seen it malfunction _this_ badly. He felt a little fearful. If The System was broken, what would happen to him? To everything?

 _“System, am I dead?,”_ he tried requesting, hoping to activate the chat window. If that was still intact, then he wasn’t completely lost, right?

To his relief, the window flickered into view, and the system dialog replied, in a voice that almost sounded relieved, _[You are unconscious, but alive. This System is having some trouble identifying the cause of this error. Until such time, your consciousness is being stored in dream space. We apologize that we may not be able to provide full service.]_

Shen Qingqiu sighed. _“What else is new?”_ he retorted, and realized he was laying on the ground somewhere that wasn’t where he’d just been. He slowly sat up. Around him was a cacophony of color and light, everything blurry and faceted, like he couldn’t clear his eyesight. But The System windows looked clearer, now. 

_[These latest events are too far outside the plot for us to predict. We would appreciate it if you would not endanger yourself so recklessly without consultation.]_

_“I didn’t realize I needed your permission,”_ he said sarcastically, getting to his feet slowly and brushing down his robes, but he felt some small affection for The System’s attitude. Remembering Binghe’s earlier cheek, he said, _“Were you worried about me?”_

_[...This System cannot interpret this data request. Please rephrase.]_

Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes, feeling himself smile. 

He glanced around. He was alone and it was daylight. He was somewhere in the same forest, but it had taken on a strange saturated quality––the sun was able to penetrate the tops of the trees, making everything sing with bright color. The flowers, fungus, even the stones glistened. Too vivid to be real, and yet, Shen Qingqiu felt in control of his body and mind here. Dream space, The System had said. It felt like a dream...a very specific type of dream. 

“Senior Nightmare?” he called out. 

“Hah, I knew it,” a voice piped up from behind him. He turned to see the old man floating out from behind a tree, wisps of smoke where hands and feet should be. “You are aware of me, after all.”

“I have heard of you,” Shen Qingqiu said vaguely, knowing that in canon, Shen Qingqiu would not actually have met the Dream Demon or know of his deal with Luo Binghe. But even the master of dream magic should not be able to project himself into Shen Qingqiu’s mind, unless....

“Where is Luo Binghe?” Shen Qingqiu demanded. 

Senior Nightmare only grinned, his eyes narrowing. “He is perfectly alright, sleeping next to you. You are aware, I suspect, that he has been training with me in the demonic arts. He has been getting rather good, enough that I can now use his mind to project myself a little.” His smile widened. “But only into the minds of those closest to him. Or rather, the one person he’s closest to above anyone else.”

Shen Qingqiu felt a small amount of pride, despite the worry that this trickster seemed to be able to use his powers freely without Luo Binghe’s help. Of course he would be proud to be considered close to Luo Binghe, his beloved student! After all, he’d worked hard to train him! Hearing praise for Luo Binghe’s progress, Shen Qingqiu lamented he wouldn’t be able to praise him directly.

So he said, “Luo Binghe is an exceptional student, no matter what he sets his mind to,” and meant it. Then he coughed into his sleeve, remembering his character. “Why have you appeared before me now? What are you plotting, demon?”

Senior Nightmare looked affronted, drawing an arm across his chest in mock-horror. “Plotting? Nothing at all. I just noticed you were in some trouble. The poison you were dosed with is reacting badly to No Cure poison already in your blood, and it’s draining you of your spiritual energy.”

Indeed, Shen Qingqiu could now identify the feeling of something slipping away from him. He had attributed it to the feeling of the dream but...he was feeling heavier and heavier, weighed down by a mortality he should not have been bound by. If his energy continued to drain, he could slip into a coma or die.

Shen Qingqiu stared blankly. There was no way a trickster demon had suddenly become altruistic. “I will not allow you to interfere with my student.”

Drifting to sit on a large rock, Senior Nightmare demurred. “If you care so much about my interference, what of your own?” he asked, ominously. “Do you deny you are using him, too?”

A pit of dread fell open in Shen Qingqiu’s stomach. “What..?” He said, trying to keep his voice even. “Why would I? I am his teacher, and guardian. I would never abuse that.” 

“Oh?” The Dream Demon countered. “I can see all of his memories. I can see how you ‘taught’ him, at first. And then you changed...But not...entirely. You are still plotting, aren’t you? If I could just figure out what you are angling for....” 

Senior Nightmare narrowed his eyes, red pupils stabbing into Shen Qingqiu. Shen Qingqiu had a moment of deep guilt, of all things. 

Then, the demon’s expression cleared, his aloof demeanor returning. “Well, it won’t matter. Luo Binghe will not be controlled by you any more than me, he’s too strong,” he said. “But it seems we are aware of each other. Look,” he said, leaning forward. “Let’s agree not to interfere with each other, and I’ll help you out this time.” 

Shen Qingqiu was already planning not to ever mention how or why he knew about Luo Binghe’s deal with Senior Nightmare, so he readily agreed, “Alright.” Belatedly, he considered that agreeing indirectly confirmed for Senior Nightmare that his motives were not entirely pure, but oh well. He had to wake up, he had to get Luo Binghe and himself out of here. 

Senior Nightmare smiled, reaching. But just before his hand reached Shen Qingqiu, a System window popped up right next to him with a forceful _BING!!_ that made Shen Qingqiu jump, physically. 

_[Warning!!!]_ read the window header. _[Dream Demon Interference, !!!]_ was the body text. Shen Qingqiu suddenly stepped back. “Wait,” he said. 

Senior Nightmare paused, blinking. “I haven’t started yet, why are you so jumpy…” and then his gaze slipped to the side, where the window was flashing. 

He was looking at it. 

He was...looking at it?

“What is that?” he asked, squinting. “Writing? What’s it say?” he continued, leaning in closer to try and read the text through the transparent window.

Shen Qingqiu suddenly felt cold all over.

Senior Nightmare only stared at the text, unmoving, before slowly turning his gaze back to Shen Qingqiu, who had frozen and was quite sure his face was doing some very strange things as he cycled through every emotion he was capable of. He’d been discovered! He was going to die, surely! Think, _think!_ How could he explain this when he didn’t even fully understand what was happening?!

“Um,” he said, intelligently. “Um.” 

A dozen more little blue windows popped up all around him, a frenzy of blue light and flashing symbols. _[!!!]_ said several. Shen Qingqiu could see one filled with an ominous wall of indecipherable text, like a code, some of it flashing red. 

Another was flickering with the text _[The System has intersected with the Plot. The System cannot intersect with the Plot. The Plot has become Corrupted. Initiating Emergency Shutdown in 10….9….8....._

Another window popped up then, right in front of Shen Qingqiu’s face, with a single chat box: _[I’m sorry.]_

“Wait!!” Shen Qingqiu yelled, and he could see Senior Nightmare’s gaze, which had been flicking back and forth as each window appeared, turn to him as he spoke. Listening. “Wait, wait _just a goddamn moment_!! You can’t just shut down without explaining what the heck is going on!! Maybe we can fix it! That’s––” he babbled, desperate, “that’s why I’m here, right?”

Several things seemed to happen almost at once. For a moment Shen Qingqiu thought nothing had changed. The _[!!!]_ windows popped out of existence one by one, then another window with more code popped up over the first. This one scrolled faster and faster, while the first window’s code started to slow. Then, to Shen Qingqiu’s relief, the countdown paused just as the 3 turned into a 2.

Finally, a new window popped up in front of Shen Qingqiu that just said _[shutdown: paused]._

Somehow, Shen Qingqiu thought the text looked just as relieved as he felt. 

“Interesting…,” Senior Nightmare said. “You were hiding something after all.”

Shen Qingqiu looked at him, feeling guilt swell in his gut. Guilty for messing this up, although he didn’t know exactly what he’d done wrong…. This had all started when they’d entered this forest and the System began to glitch. If he’d come alone, it would never have come to this….

But if he’d come alone, he’d be dead right now.

Senior Nightmare stared at him calmly, unphased. 

Shen Qingqiu had no idea how to explain. _Wasn’t there something like...a rule about transmigration? That you can’t even tell anyone about it?_

But Senior Nightmare seemed to be able to hear and see a side of him that was supposed to be secret....

_...A demon who was possessing Luo Binghe, reading all his thoughts, and posing as a benevolent, helpful guide._

“Whatever I am hiding, is my own to conceal. Luo Binghe is also keeping _you_ a secret from everyone.” he said, vaguely, keeping his voice as steady as he could.

Senior Nightmare blinked, seeming to consider this. “Then...this presence...is the form of a possessive spirit, like myself?” he asked, gesturing with one sleeve to the floating window.

Shen Qingqiu felt a tiny bit of hope bubble up in his chest. _Yes, yes! Keep assuming, Dream Demon!_ It wasn’t like he was entirely wrong, anyway. 

If Shen Qingqiu thought about it, actually The System and the Dream Demon had many similarities.

A new system window popped up then, a title card that looked like the ones that labelled new characters who appeared. It said in English, 

_[ S y s t e m ]_

Shen Qingqiu blinked. For a moment, he was confused. Why was it telling Shen Qingqiu who it was? 

Then he realized. The System was making itself a character. 

Senior Nightmare just stared in fascination. “What an odd form for a spirit to take. Like floating talismans. What does that say?”

Shen Qingqiu gulped. It was now or never. “That is it’s name. _System_.” He winced internally, waiting for a strike of lightning or the sound of blaring horns, but nothing happened. So far so good. 

“And this _Sys-tem_ is your...master?” Senior Nightmare guessed, as the other windows, now seemingly irrelevant as the shutdown had been circumvented, melted away. 

Shen Qingqiu felt oddly vulnerable. “More than a master, I am...subject to its will, you might say.”

Senior Nightmare only nodded, as if this was only to be expected. “And what is your will, spirit?” he asked, addressing the sparkling window directly. 

Another window appeared, this one in English all-caps,

_[ YOU CAN YOU UP ]_

_[ NO CAN NO BB ]_

Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes, actually rolled them, not caring if Senior Nightmare saw his exasperation. “That isn’t helpful, he won’t understand. Even I barely understand that stupid motto.” He suddenly remembered his first conversation with The System, when he first saw these words. 

_Improve the story from a low-class long-winded story to a premium, grand and high-class classic._

The System wanted a better story. It was what he’d wanted, too. And rather than spend his life complaining, he had gotten a chance to prove that he could figure out how to make it better.

He was stuck now in a story with no clear path, but he still had a mission.

“Well?” Senior Nightmare pressed him. “What does that mean?” 

Shen Qingqiu thought, amused, that the System’s voice seemed to be purposefully holding itself back. He would have to be its Google Translate. “It means, ‘do it if you can, and don’t complain if you can’t’. It means...if one feels like complaining, try and fix what’s wrong.”

Senior Nightmare scrunched his face up in disgust. “Such an altruistic goal seems hardly something one would be cursed with.”

Shen Qingqiu laughed a little. Ah, if only it were true. “Believe me, I am indeed cursed with it. This peak lord spent much of his life burdened with jealousy and greed. I am cursed...to atone.” In a...roundabout fashion, he thought to himself. And to what end, he didn’t know.

This made no sense to a demon, of course. Senior Nightmare only looked skeptical. “I suppose this would explain your change in personality from before. But I cannot believe you are not somehow also working to take advantage of Luo Binghe.” He narrowed his eyes at Shen Qingqiu again. 

Shen Qingqiu couldn’t keep the fear from his face, exposed as he felt. “That student of mine has been deeply wronged. Kindness is my atonement.”

The demon only laughed. “Just to atone? Ridiculous. You dote on him like he is a little lord. I watch you, all day, every day. I see it, even if you don’t.”

Shen Qingqiu was just confused now. “A little––? See what?” he demanded, perplexed. 

The Dream Demon grinned with all his teeth, red eyes twinkling. “Ah, I suppose you’ll find out. It’s no matter for now. Alright,” he said, swishing both arms and letting the swirls of smoke waft around them. Where they passed through the windows of the System, the windows shuddered, as though disturbed. As though they were, just a little bit, actually physically _there._

Shen Qingqiu was still so confused, but he’d seemed to have managed his way through without anything exploding in his face. Miraculously, he might get this plot back on track.

‘’...Alright,” Senior Nightmare was saying, “I _may_ keep your little ‘System’ friend to myself, too. But you listen here! We are not allies. If I see you try to control Luo Binghe or thwart him, I will show no mercy.” His voice was ice cold, the smoke billowing around them making Shen Qingqiu feel just a bit chilly. 

Or that might have been the poison, slowly numbing his body to death. “I only have his best interests at heart,” he insisted. “If you help me, I can return to him now before it’s too late.” He felt the cold reach his throat. Suddenly it was hard to breathe. “Please,” he almost choked. 

The demon stood silent before him, considering, as he felt himself grow heavier as his awareness focused back on his physical body. A new window popped up beside him. _[Spiritual Core Corruption: 75%, 76%...]_ and a progress bar appeared below, slowly filling. 

This snapped the Dream Demon out of his thoughts. He nodded to it. “That...is the poison spreading. A living, visual representation. Fascinating…” 

The System actually _sparkled_ , like it was _preening_ , for god’s sake...Shen Qingqiu would have bit out that these two could bond later, thank you, but his own voice had deserted him. Seeming to read his thoughts, though, and watching the progress bar fill with a wary eye, Senior Nightmare raised one arm to hover over Shen Qingqiu’s forehead. His hand of smoke filled Shen Qingqiu’s vision, followed by the distinct press of a hand on his forehead. Strangely...it felt warm. 

Furrowing his brow, Senior Nightmare seemed to be searching for something unseen. “Ahh,” he said suddenly, “I’ve got a hold of it. I’ll pull it out.” Shen Qingqiu felt something pulling up from his toes, then spreading up his legs and back, through his neck to the point of his forehead where the Dream Demon touched him. It flowed up and out through that point, like sap from a tree.

Warmth spread through his body, tingling nerves waking back up. He cried out but no sound came, only darkness and then something...wet.

Shen Qingqiu blinked slowly. Wet...on one side of his body. A bit prickly too. His eyes opened, and he could see in the pale blue light of the shrine that he was lying on the dewy ground. 

Luo Binghe was lying a few feet away from him, motionless. 

There was a figure kneeling in front of the shrine, a few meters from them, back turned. Shen Qingqiu didn’t dare move, but he whispered, cautiously, “...Binghe?” 

Luo Binghe didn’t move at all. Still unconscious? But the poison shouldn’t have affected him as badly...Shen Qingqiu slid, as quietly and slowly as he could, willing himself to make no sound, closer to his disciple until he was only a foot or so away and he could make out Binghe’s perfectly lax face. He looked peaceful. Like he was dreaming. If he was, maybe Senior Nightmare was talking to him––spilling all Shen Qingqiu’s secrets. 

Maybe Shen Qingqiu couldn’t trust him to keep his word and these were his last moments in this world after all. 

Li Shenfu was kneeling in front of the shrine. Saying something. Speaking to someone. But who––?

“Won’t it be safe enough, after this?” he was saying, distressed, and Shen Qingqiu suddenly saw the shape of the girl. She was standing just beyond Li Shenfu, in the shadow of the pagoda, swathed in darkness despite the glowing light. Her eyes were sparkling with power. 

Shen Qingqiu tried to summon Xiu Ya, but found his powers blocked. Great. The reaction to the poison had messed up his meridians. He was stuck with just his wits until Binghe woke.

“The more who come, the more I can _eat,_ ” she said, voice playful. She tossed one of her pigtails, looking over at where Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe lay on the ground. Shen Qingqiu shut his eyes as quick as lightning, affecting perfect stillness, but he heard her anyways. “Did you move them, brother?” she snapped.

He could hear Li Shenfu step closer. “No, they’re laying right where they fell,” he said, but he walked over to them.Shen Qingqiu felt him lean down and prod his arm with his hand. “They’re still out cold. I used so much knock-out powder even cultivators wouldn’t be able to resist it.” 

“And you checked their clothes and packs? They didn’t–– _?_ ” she trailed off, skeptical. 

“Nothing. But I didn’t see when that older one got here, so he might have––.”

“Hmm, yes, he could have eaten one already,” the girl said. “I’ll eat them quickly, just in case. No point in risking it.”

Wait a second. Eat them? Eat _him?! What the heck!!_ How had they suddenly gotten mixed up with a human-eating demon? Why was Li Shenfu’s sister a demon, anyway?

The girl came closer, her footfalls slow and measured. He heard Li Shenfu speak from just above him. “If they’re from a powerful cultivation sect, won’t more come looking for them?” He sounded increasingly anxious.

So that was why people had been disappearing. The monsters were just a useful scapegoat. It was Li Chengli who’d tricked them all along. But why? 

“You can take their bones back to the forest’s edge as a warning,” she chided, stepping closer to them. Shen Qingqiu wanted to leap up and away, out of her grasp––he wanted to run!! But Luo Binghe was still asleep. Even with the protagonist's halo….

Even with it, Shen Qingqiu wasn’t about to abandon him and risk making him think he was all alone. 

“This one’s awake! I can see him twitching!!” the girl-demon cried, and cold fingers wrapped around his arm with a grip like a vice. “Quickly, before he wakes all the way up! The powder!” 

“But...I used it all, _sister,_ ” Li Shenfu muttered. “Like I said, I had to use _all_ of it because these two were very strong. That young one killed one of your pet scarabs while I was trying to herd it towards them. They killed the rest together when they surrounded us here….”

Li Chengli’s voice became anguished. “ _All_ of them?!” she cried. “All my precious scarabs….well. They’ll pay for that.” Shen Qingqiu felt her finger grow into claws, digging through the fabric of his robes. 

He couldn’t feign sleep any longer. He sat up rapidly to grasp Li Chengli’s hand on his arm, using what strength he could to counter her grip. It was still not enough, but his qi was blocked––he hoped he could at least buy time by bluffing.

“My heart is filled with joy to see you unharmed, Li Chengli.” he said, flatly. “Unfortunately, we do not wish to be anyone’s meal. Perhaps we could come to some other arrangement?” He glanced behind her to Li Shenfu, standing over them with his hand clutching his ax. Luo Binghe was still unmoving. He didn’t know how long he could stall. He had nothing to go on right now except his wits. The original Shen Qingqiu had been cunning, and right now he hoped that some inkling of that skill was still accessible. 

Hoped, blasphemously, that he was enough like the original goods. 

“What makes you think I would make any deal with a _human?”_ Li Chengli spat. She was frowning, her face far younger than she probably was. 

He nodded to Li Shenfu. “You have some kind of deal between the two of you, do you not?” He couldn’t help his next question. “Are you really siblings?”

Both seemed a little flummoxed by this, as though the people they usually tricked were not interested to know their arrangement. He supposed most people just fought. He tried to continue to give off a calm exterior, though he could not ignore the unrelenting claws he felt digging into him. 

Li Shenfu spoke up first. “Something had been...slaughtering the bandits and treasure seekers who kept trespassing in these woods,” he said. He looked at Li Chengli. “When I came upon her feeding on them and told her she was welcome here, we came to an...understanding.”

“An understanding...to kill anyone seeking the Moon Ear Flower..?” Shen Qingqiu guessed. The flower had become over-harvested until recently. Now, it was allowed to regrow. He was begrudgingly a little impressed. 

“Don’t listen to him, Shenfu,” Li Chengli whined. “Cultivators are all sworn enemies of demons. He would seek to destroy me, and then what will you do?” She raised her other hand, claws extended, to his throat. 

Shen Qingqiu felt a burst of spiritual energy from behind him, and in a flash Luo Binghe’s sword was held to her chest. “Take your hands off my Shizun,” he said. Shen Qingqiu breathed a quiet sigh of relief, noting that he was still “shizun”, at least for the moment.

Li Chengli’s grip went slack at once, and Shen Qingqiu took the opportunity to leap away. He landed gracefully by Li Shenfu as Luo Binghe got to his feet, carefully covering Li Chengli as she also rose. If things got any more tense, there was going to be a fight.

It all struck Shen Qingqiu as such a waste, especially after talking to Senior Nightmare. Even if this pair was committing heinous acts, maybe they really were just trying to save something sacred. Something that would get eaten up by greed otherwise. Restoring balance, in their own way.

He sighed. He hoped that, one day, Luo Binghe would remember what he was about to do. 

“Even if it is for an admirable cause…It is never right to take innocent life,” he said, gravely. “We can’t allow this to continue. So,” and here he looked at Li Chengli, or the demon pretending to be Li Chengli, anyway. “I’m going to make you a deal, and you’re going to take it.”

Li Chengli blinked. “A heavenly cultivator, making deals with demons?” she said, incredulous. She chuckled a bit. Luo Binghe brandished his sword higher at her throat, threatening. 

“Shizun, why––” he interjected, but Shen QingQiu silenced him with a look. _Trust me, Binghe, please._

“You will leave this mountain and return to the Demon Realm,” Shen QingQiu continued, loftily. “You will not return to this realm to take human lives again, or we will hunt you down.” 

“Ah, but!” Li Chengli said, whining. “But this forest is such easy hunting grounds! I only kill people who are stealing from it!”

“The Moon Ear Flower will not survive, and the forest will die!” Li Shenfu added, incredulous.

“We will destroy the path to this shrine and cloak the surrounding area,” Shen Qingqiu declared. “My disciple and I will keep this location secret. We will tell others we found nothing of value here. In time, everyone will forget.”

“Everyone but you, you mean,” Li Shenfu spat. “You just want to hoard this place all for yourself.”

“We do not have that intention,” Shen Qingqiu countered. He met Luo Binghe’s eyes. “You may choose not to believe us, but I...sympathize with your cause.

“Anyway, the alternative is we kill you,” Shen Qingqiu deadpanned. “Unless that’s what you would prefer…?”

He smiled, his most serene, cold, immortal smile, the one he knew his face pulled off so well it unnerved people and made them run away very fast. Li Chengli audibly gulped, but then rolled her eyes, letting out a long exhale. “Fine, then. But if you take advantage of this man, I may just return to test your pledge.” She turned to Li Shenfu, looking up at him. He looked a lot older than her, enough to be her father. If she was supposed to be his little sister, Shen Qingqiu was struck with the thought they must have been carrying out this ploy for quite a while.

But Li Shenfu looked down at her as if she was the older one. “Don’t trust everybody who comes along, kid,” she chided, taking his hand. She gently squeezed it. “It’s been fun,” she added, and in the blink of an eye she was gone.

Li Shenfu just stared, dazed, at the empty space where she had been standing. Luo Binghe stood, still holding up his sword, brandishing it at nothing. He stared at Shen Qingqiu with a slightly boggled expression, as though he wasn’t completely sure what had just occurred. 

Shen Qingqiu found the intensity of his stare increasingly uncomfortable and coughed, trying to dispel the awkward silence. It was Li Shenfu who spoke next. 

“I suppose I should thank you,” he said, still bewildered. “Though it was I who agreed to help her,” He bowed his head. “...I was not happy to see people killed,” he continued, morose. “It seemed the only way to restore this forest, at the time. I regret it,” he said, looking up, though his face said he didn’t regret it at all. 

“I have no quarrel with you,” Shen Qingqiu assured him. “We will do everything we promised. Binghe?” he called. Luo Binghe snapped out of his daze, finally, and nodded.

They (or rather, Binghe) destroyed the little wooden bridge, blocking up the narrow stone gap before finally bludgeoning the rock steps into nothing but rubble. Under his master’s direction, Luo Binghe cast a series of talismans that dispelled the traces of spiritual energy around the peak until it was all but impossible to detect the shrine. Anyone looking for it would see only bare rocks above the trees. 

As though free of some curse, the fog opened up to reveal the dark night sky, stars twinkling, the moon casting light down on the woods in place of the Moon Ear Flowers. 

Finally done, they took a short rest on a cliffside, sharing one of Luo Binghe’s steamed buns from his pack and drinking the cool water from a nearby spring. Li Shenfu was mostly silent, casting suspicious glances over at them every few moments as though they would leap up and fly back to the shrine to take their prize. Something about it struck Shen Qingqiu, and he realized that, in the original novel, he had come here alone. Was this how things had turned out originally? Could the original-goods scum villain Shen Qingqiu have made the same choice?

 _No way,_ Shen Qingqiu thought, quickly abandoning that possibility. Surely he had come here with the sole purpose of stealing the flowers for himself, destroying anyone who opposed him. And then he had gifted the last remaining flower to Ning Yingying. Thinking about it made Shen Qingqiu feel a little sick.

Luo Binghe was sneaking glances at him too, little happy ones, full of admiration. He didn’t comment on them, hopeful that his actions had proved, in some small way, he wouldn’t outright despise someone of demonic heritage. 

A system window appeared, without even a hint of a glitch. _[ Resolving the Mogu Mountain conflict sub-plot, +200 BP added. ]_

It was such a relief to see the clean blue window that it cleared his mood completely. _“Oh, so now you pop in.”_

_[ We apologize for the delay. We were chatting with Senior Nightmare. ]_

Shen Qingqiu almost balked. _“The Dream Demon? You were talking to him?”_ He imagined the two of them “talking”, if the System could bring itself to use its voice or if it was conducted entirely with pictograms.

 _[ We have taken this opportunity to gain better perspective on the protagonist’s whims and goals ]_ the voice narrated, and Shen Qingqiu felt slightly dizzy that the System was, apparently, _gossiping_ . _[ He has kindly helped us re-evaluate this current deviation from the plot. We have thus determined how it will fit into the hidden storyline. ]_

Once Shen Qingqiu’s head stopped spinning, he asked, tentatively, _“So, no more glitching? You’re alright?”_

 _[ We are of adequate condition to assist you ]_ it said, unemotional as ever, but the text itself seemed to bounce as it was typed in. Perhaps it was a good thing for the System to have a...friend? Ally? Confidant? 

It was too much to fully consider, for the moment, so Shen Qingqiu pressed on. _“No point deductions for making a deal with a demon?”_

A pause, before the text reply came. _[ It is 99% unlikely that the character “Shen Qingqiu, Scumbag Villain” would make this choice. ]_ Another pause. _[ However, recent character development, including Shen Qingqiu’s meeting with Senior Nightmare, will have changed his perspective on demons, opening up a new character path. Congratulations and keep up the good work! ]_ And with that, the window popped back out of view, and Shen Qingqiu was left with Luo Binghe and Li Shenfu, quietly sitting on the cliff, both still eyeing him. 

He cleared his throat. Not that it had suddenly gotten tight, or anything. 

“ _Ahem._ We should return to Qing Jing Peak,” he said, standing. 

His disciple popped up beside him. “Yes, Shizun!” he said, immediately puttering around, stowing away the cups and offering the rest of the buns to Li Shenfu, who accepted them, bewildered. 

“You...really want to take nothing?” he said, hesitant, still unbelieving. 

Shen Qingqiu huffed, and looked around the cliff, which had some small weeds and vines creeping up through the cracks in the rock. There were flowers, too, small white clusters of them. They were not the Moon Ear Flower, but...they were very beautiful, like everything in these woods. He leaned down and carefully plucked one from its stem.

Lifting it to show Li Shenfu, he said, “We will take this,” he said. “We can show this to our sect master and tell him it was mistaken for the Moon Ear.”

And in his ear he heard a _bing!_ And another small window popped up. _[ Key item obtained! A flower gift for Ning Yingying x 1 ]_

Shen Qingqiu felt some relief to have resolved that little side-plot. Li Shenfu was relieved, too, his face breaking with some small amount of hope that, maybe, this could be the end to the trouble and the beginning of peace. He nodded, and Shen Qingqiu slipped the little flower into his sleeve.

Li Shenfu led them dutifully back as dawn broke, light slowly returning to the woods. There was a sense that the very trees and rocks were breathing easily again. They found their horses where they had left them, but the cart they had tied them next to was rotted and decaying now, as though it had been abandoned for years. The horse they had tied up with theirs was gone, but Luo Binghe pointed out the skeletal remains of a horse not far from the old cart. So it had been an illusion from the beginning, then. 

They set off in the direction of the sunrise, breathing in the fresh air. Shen Qingqiu felt well-rested. He supposed they had slept the night before after all, thanks to the knock-out powder. He remembered Luo Binghe’s peaceful face and felt glad, unbidden, that his disciple had not been harmed. 

“Binghe,” he said, pulling the single white flower from his sleeve. “I... _ahem.._.that is, I’d like you to carry this flower, for me,” he said, gravely. Luo Binghe looked over from his reins as Shen Qingqiu raised the flower up, and gasped. 

“Shizun?” Luo Binghe said, voice full of emotion. “You’re giving me this…?” 

The sound of Luo Binghe so fervent made Shen Qingqiu feel a little uncomfortable, maybe a bit embarrassed. “It’s to give to Ning Yingying, after we explain it to Yue Qingyuan,” he quickly explained. She’s your good friend, right? And...girls like flowers. I thought you might...well, I think she’d appreciate a gift of a pretty flower from her dear Luo Binghe.” 

He looked over and smiled, trying to look kindly. Luo Binghe needed to give Ning Yingying a gift in order to gain the character points, he remembered from before, and this way Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t lose any face. He could be a helpful matchmaker to his student!

But Luo Binghe did not seem all too pleased to hear this. As Shen Qingqiu explained, his face fell, expression darkening. “Oh,” he said, instead of _‘thank you, shizun!’_ or _‘how generous of you, shizun!!’_ or anything else that would have been appropriate. “Oh...you want me to...give this to someone else.” He held the flower delicately in his fingers, staring at it with a seriousness that might have wilted a lesser specimen.

He coughed, distressed at his disciple’s tumultuous mood swings, yet again. He remembered their earlier argument, which had caused Luo Binghe to fly off in such dramatic fashion. 

“Binghe,” he said, feeling the sudden urge to clear something up. “You were right, before. To not trust Li Chengli. You were right, and this master was foolish.”

But this did nothing to placate his disciple’s poor mood. “No, Shizun, you were right all along, I was wrong to criticize your kindness. I––that is....this disciple will reflect further...on not passing judgement on people. I have so much still to learn.”

Shen Qingqiu nodded, pleased. “Good. We are powerful cultivators, and we have a duty to not abuse our power. But I trust your judgement, Binghe. Very much.” He smiled at Luo Binghe, offering whatever small faith he could impart, to cheer him, because he knew the kid was confident in his strength enough to take a compliment. Usually complimenting him was all Shen Qingqiu needed to do to cheer him up and gain a few extra B-Points.

To his relief, Luo Binghe’s expression cleared, and he just looked back at Shen Qingqiu with a smile so golden and shining that Shen Qingqiu almost felt like squinting. “Yes, Shizun!” he said, eyes sparkling, and he turned back to gaze at the flower, obviously pleased.

Well, OK, maybe earning B-Points wasn’t the _only_ reason he was always indulging his student. It was obviously the _main_ reason––Shen Qingqiu could never completely forget he was playing some kind of twisted game. 

But….If Luo Binghe’s smiling, content expression was also just a little pleasing to him, personally, well. At least it was a small comfort for the times when he felt afraid of what had to come. 

_Bing!_ Came the tell-tale sound of the System window appearing next to his shoulder. _[-50 B-Points will be deducted for Scum Villain Shen Qingqiu if you do not gift Ning Yingying the flower yourself.]_

 _“What--!”_ Shen Qingqiu sniped, whipping his head around to face the window. _“But it was you who said 30 B-Points would be deducted if Luo Binghe doesn’t give her one!? Why is it a deduction either way?”_

_[This System’s analysis has taken recent character development data into account. Because of this, several plot details have been re-analyzed and the point system expanded. Now you will have more opportunities to win or lose points! We appreciate your ongoing dedication to improving this storyline!]_

_“I didn’t ask for that!! You’re just getting carried away now!”_ Shen Qingqiu fumed. But glancing back over at Luo Binghe’s happy little grin as he admired the flower’s sparkling petals...he certainly wasn’t going to take the flower back now. 

Oh well. It was a deduction either way, so better to do this and let Luo Binghe be happy, right? _Ah, screw it,_ he thought, taking out his fan to waft himself idly.

When they arrived back at Qing Jing Peak, Yue Qingyuan was waiting for them in Shen Qingqiu’s rooms. _Really,_ Shen Qingqiu thought, sighing internally as he rose to greet them, _does this revered Clan Leader and illustrious Peak Lord have nothing better to do?_

Yue Qingyuan smiled warmly, bidding Shen Qingqiu sit and rest after his long journey home. Luo Binghe knelt at the table, pouring their tea, subdued. Almost as though he was also disappointed by the Qiong Ding Peak Lord’s presence, Shen Qingqiu thought ridiculously. 

Catching Luo Binghe’s eye meaningfully, he began their agreed-upon tale of events from their journey. They had found and subdued the monsters in the woods. The missing people had been killed, but there had been no demonic presence, nor was there any remaining threat.

Yue Qingyuan nodded along, listening intently. “And the mythical Moon Ear flower, did you find it?” he asked. Shen Qingqiu kept his face as still as he could, unsure exactly how well Yue Qingyuan could detect dishonesty and hoping he was skilled enough to fool him. Beside him, Luo Binghe was perfectly still as well. He wanted to kick up under the table, but he resisted.

“The rumors led us only to an ordinary flower of great beauty, but nothing more. It is this master’s opinion, having examined the woods carefully, that no such flower exists.” he said, seriously, not blinking. Luo Binghe pulled out the little white flower, itself perfectly ordinary, and showed him. If Yue Qingyuan suspected anything, well, he was a dishonest scum villain after all. But Yue Qingyuan only smiled, congratulating them on their good work, entreating them to drink more tea and rest a while before returning to their duties.

“A-Luo, are you here?” came Ning Yingying’s voice from the door, and she popped her head in. “Ah, I’m sorry for interrupting,” she said, looking chagrined, but only a bit. Luo Binghe rose quickly to greet her, trying to usher her away. 

“I’ll talk to you soon, once Shizun dismisses me,” he said, chastising her. 

“Oh, but Shizun doesn’t mind! Come on, I want to know about your trip!” she weedled, pulling his arm. “Can he be dismissed now, Shizun?” she asked, brightly. Shen Qingqiu lamented he had truly spoiled more than one disciple. 

He sighed, waving them off. “Go on,” he said. “Luo Binghe is surely sick of me by now, please give him some food and let him rest.” Luo Binghe didn’t look too pleased, but he bowed respectfully and left with Ning Yingying. 

Shen Qingqiu shifted in his seat, stiff. Yue Qingyuan blinked and grabbed Shen Qingqiu’s wrist, immediately checking his meridians. “They’ve been blocked,” he said, face growing grim. He turned to Luo Binghe, who was bringing them tea. “What happened?” 

Shen Qingqiu pulled his wrist back, clicking his tongue. “It’s perfectly alright, we took care of the issue and made it home in one piece.” Yue Qingyuan furrowed his brow, obviously fretting, but didn’t press.

He insisted on circulating his energy for him, and then bid he rest for a while, too, before finally leaving. Shen Qingqiu was only too happy to relax, revelling in the peace and comfort of his room. Really, he was happy, and all was nice and quiet. 

If he immediately got up and left his rooms as soon as Yue Qingyuan was gone, well, it was only because he was a dedicated Peak Lord, concerned with his disciples’ well-being. 

_[ You require rest. ]_ the voice read out as the chat window appeared at his side. _[ Your spiritual core is still unstable. ]_

 _“I want to see Luo Binghe give Ning Yingying the flower, come on, tell me where they are!”_ he pressed. Such a beautiful innocent scene of young love could not be missed. And this time, Luo Binghe would not be unfairly punished afterwards, so he would get to enjoy it guilt-free, right?

The chat disappeared altogether, and Shen Qingqiu thought it was going to refuse. But then a new window popped up, with what he realized was a map of the peak. On it were a dozen glowing dots, some moving around and others stationary, so they must be people. He found himself standing at the entrance to his own rooms. Far to the left were two dots close together, standing in the bamboo forest. Ah, they were already there, he was going to miss it!

He leapt through the trees as gracefully and silently as a floating leaf, landing near a clearing where Luo Binghe and Ning Yingying sat, chatting idly. Then Ning Yingying popped up, running off back in the direction of the peak buildings, saying something about getting him a bite to eat. Luo Binghe leaned back on his palms, and Shen Qingqiu found himself marvelling at the sight of him––healthy and whole, face relaxed, he was growing into a fine cultivator. Shen Qingqiu was so proud of him. 

Then Luo Binghe looked over at where Shen Qingqiu was standing. He looked right at him, as though he had known he was there. “Shizun!” he called, and leapt over to him. “Were you looking for me?” 

Ah, crap, how to explain? He was just being a creeper! “Ahem,” he coughed, taking his fan out quickly. “This master had been walking here to appreciate the beauty of this forest. I had missed it.” 

Luo Binghe was unphased and smiled. “Me, too,” he said easily. “Shizun…I…,” he started, and then he halted, and looked nervous. 

Shen Qingqiu tried to remain aloof, but his curiosity was piqued. “What is it?” he asked. 

Luo Binghe reached into his robe, and from it he drew the pretty little flower, holding it reverently. He hadn’t given it to Ning Yingying yet? 

“I…,” he said, still nervous. “I want to give this to you, Shizun.” He held the flower out straight in front of him, eyes fixed on the ground. He was...blushing??

Shen Qingqiu wanted to groan. This silly student!! How could he be so stubborn!! 

“I gave it to you to give to a _friend_ ,” Shen Qingqiu grit out, feeling a headache coming on. How hard did he have to work to get the protagonist to flirt with his love interest just a little!!

“You gave it to me, so I can do what I want with it!” Luo Binghe responded, voice growing more fervent, his eyes snapping back up to Shen Qingqiu, full of fiery resolve. “I wanted to––to thank you! For looking out for me, Shizun, and...trusting me. I don’t deserve it.” He finished, morose. 

Shen Qingqiu was trapped by his childish, sulking expression yet again. “You _do_ deserve it, Binghe,” he said, unbidden, a confession of confidence that felt wrong to admit. Luo Binghe stared at him, wide-eyed. He coughed, trying to regain his composure. “And as your master it is my duty to put my faith in you. It’s nothing that deserves your thanks.”

This only seemed to frustrate Luo Binghe more, though. “Then...please accept this as a token...to remember me by, when I’ve grown up too much to be your disciple, one day. Even if you have no use for it, please just keep it safe.”

He thrust the flower forward, and Shen Qingqiu felt compelled to take it, unsure how to react. This was supposed to be Ning Yingying’s scene, he realized, all of a sudden. This was how it had gone––Ning Yingying had refused to accept it at first, but Luo Binghe’s stubbornness won her over, as it always did, with her and every other harem member after that.

And Shen Qingqiu found himself a bit moved––Luo Binghe understood he would not be Shen Qingqiu’s disciple forever. They both knew deep down that things would change, and maybe...maybe they both wanted, a little, to preserve something from this moment.

He nodded once, eyes suddenly hot and throat tight (he was _certainly_ not about to cry, _absolutely not)._ Then, startling him out of his momentary reverie, a loud _bing!_ sounded in his ear, and a window popped up between them, right over the flower in his hand. 

_[ Failure to complete plot point: Protagonist Gifts Flower to Ning Yingying. Penalty: -50 B-Points ]_

Shen Qingqiu could have bashed that window in two. It always seemed to pop up just to spoil his mood…!

But then below, another alert showed up.

_[ Protagonist satisfaction increased! Reward: +300 B-Points._

_[ Congratulations and keep up the good work! ]_

Shen Qingqiu felt a spike of excitement at the unexpected reward, but he was still annoyed, somehow. After all, he hadn’t accepted the gift for the points! 

But, wait...hadn’t he? He considered this. No, he really had just wanted to accept Luo Binghe’s gesture. Getting a reward almost spoiled it, somehow.

“Shizun?” Luo Binghe asked.Shen Qingqiu thought his face must have done something odd, cycling through several emotions at once. 

He settled himself and smiled. “It will be my honor to accept this gift,” he said, formally, and tucked the flower carefully back into his sleeve. Luo Binghe responded with a beaming grin, lunging forward, startling Shen Qingqiu with a completely inappropriate hug. 

Shen Qingqiu sighed patting him on his head, affectionately. If the System wanted to reward him or punish him, just for a moment, he decided he didn’t care at all.


End file.
